September 16, 2014: The National Center for Health Statistics has released the first estimates of uninsurance in 2014 from the first quarter of the 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). They also include a comparison with the Current Population Survey’s new point-in-time estimate of uninsurance.
Additionally, the U.S. Census Bureau released national-level health insurance coverage statistics for calendar year 2013 from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS), along with national and state-level estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS).
Highlights
2014 estimates
According to the NHIS, 13.1 percent of people nationwide lacked health insurance at a point-in-time. It’s important to note that these interviews occurred before the end of the first open enrollment period for health insurance marketplaces, so this survey may not have counted some individuals who enrolled toward the end of open enrollment.
According to the CPS, 13.8 percent of people nationwide lacked health insurance at a point-in-time. This is based on the CPS’ new questions to gather a point-in-time estimate of uninsurance. Because these interviews were conducted from February to April 2014, this estimate may not count some individuals who enrolled toward the end of open enrollment, similar to the NHIS estimate.
For more information on these NHIS and CPS estimates, read the NCHS comparison brief. For more information on other NHIS estimates, read this blog post. For more information on other CPS estimates, read this blog post.
2013 estimates
According to the CPS, 13.4 percent of people nationwide lacked health insurance coverage during the entire year of 2013.
According to the ACS, 14.5 percent of people nationwide lacked health insurance at any point in time during 2013, representing a statistically significant drop in the percentage of the U.S. population lacking insurance from 14.8 percent in 2012. Fifteen states saw significant changes in their uninsurance rates from 2012 to 2013, with 13 experiencing declines and 2 experiencing increases in uninsurance.
For more information on the ACS and CPS estimates of health insurance coverage in 2013, including information on changes to the CPS and additional details on state estimates of uninsurance from the ACS, read this blog post.